A Ghost of a Chance
by miss37
Summary: My Halloween story for 2014. Mac is visited by a "ghost"...while he is sick with the flu. Is it real or is he having hallucinations? He finds that he gets caught up in an old murder case that happened around Halloween five years earlier, and this case is connected to another case in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

Mac Taylor was on his way home, and he was feeling miserably sick. He thought he must be catching that flu that was going around. He thought no matter how one tried to avoid it, sometimes it would find you anyway. He got out at his apartment and went up to it. He sneezed as he was trying to unlock the door. It was almost Halloween and he knew the city was going to be busy, and here he was getting sick. He went on into the apartment and hung his coat on the coatrack, although he felt like keeping it on. He went into the kitchen and looked in the cabinet where he kept a few types of medicine such as Tylenol and Benadryl, and sometimes he even had some cold medicine, but he had nothing in there tonight, except some Tylenol that expired a year ago.

Mac rubbed his face as he knew he would have to go out and get something or he would be feeling much worse in the morning. He definitely was not going to wear the suit he had on, so he went into the bedroom and changed into a sweat shirt and jeans and put on some comfortable sneakers. He put on his jacket and went out to his truck again. He leaned back on the seat a moment as he wondered if he felt like driving but he would have to. He drove on down to the store that was not too far from where he lived.

As Mac walked into the store, he wished he was at home in bed, but he went on to the medicine aisle and looked at all the different types of medicine. He grabbed some stuff and headed up to the counter, but as he was coming down the aisle, he saw a woman at the end of the aisle who had red hair, and she looked over her shoulder at him with a smile…and then she was gone. Mac stopped a moment and looked ahead of him. He rubbed his forehead. "You're sicker than you thought, Taylor," he said. "I got to get home to bed."

Mac paid for his stuff and went back home. He set all the medicine on his night table and got some water. He took some of it and then got into the bed with a sweatshirt and sweatpants on. He felt so cold and he curled up in the covers. He was soon asleep.

During the night, Mac started to wake up when he smelled perfume, and he heard someone whisper, "Mac. Mac."

"Huh?" Mac said in his drowsiness.

"Mac, wake up."

Mac finally got his eyes slightly open and looked to see what looked like a red-haired woman standing beside his bed…no, not just any red-haired woman, Claire! She looked like she had a glow around her. Mac sat straight up not believing what he was seeing.

"Aren't you glad to see me? I can help you," she said in a wispy voice.

Mac lay down on the bed and turned the other way. He thought he must be delirious with fever. He opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder and she was right in his face. Mac fell off the bed which did not feel good at all. He backed up. "Get away from me!" he exclaimed.

"You don't mean that, Detective. You need my help."

"No, you're not Claire! Get out!"

Mac thought he was losing his mind. Why was he talking to a figment of his imagination? He got up and went into the living room feeling sweat all over him, and he felt like he was burning hot. He had to get some water so he went into the kitchen and got himself a bottle of water. His throat felt sore but he had to drink the water anyway. He thought it was harder to drink water than anything else when one had a sore throat. He leaned on the sink and he knew he had that flu now. It was even causing him to see hallucinations. He went back to his bedroom and there was nothing there now, so he went back to bed.

The next morning, Mac decided he better go to the doctor and get a shot, although he had gotten a flu shot. He supposed he had a different kind than what the shot covered. He put some coffee into the coffee maker and then sneezed which did not help his throat at all. He had tried not to catch this sickness but here he was.

Just then, Mac's doorbell rang. He sighed as he walked to the door with his arms folded. He felt like he was freezing now. "Who's there?" he asked.

"It's Jo."

Mac opened the door slightly to see Jo Danville out there. "I don't think you should come in here," Mac said. "I think I have the flu."

"I thought you looked like you were getting sick yesterday. Is there anything you need?"

Mac considered that. "Well, I have to go to the doctor today. I sure do need someone to drive me."

"You've got it. What time?"

"I have to be there at eleven this morning."

"Okay, I will be back in time to take you, or I will make sure someone is here."

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you don't need some soup or something?"

"I could use some."

"I will be back in just a little while and I will be wearing a mask."

Mac nodded. "Thanks."

Mac closed the door as Jo walked away. He thought it looked like a long way to the kitchen but he went back in there and his coffee was almost ready. He felt incredibly sleepy. He thought about that nightmare he had last night. It had to be a nightmare because there was no other explanation.

When Jo came back, Mac was ready to go and she gave him a mask. "Do I have to wear this?" he asked.

"It would be better if you did," Jo said. "That way you won't spread it."

Mac put the mask on and they went down to Jo's car. "Why do I feel so sleepy?" Mac asked as he leaned back on the seat.

"Your body needs rest," Jo said.

As Mac waited in the waiting room at the doctor's office, he thought he would fall asleep sitting there. Jo sat beside him. She was a little worried about him as she saw him dozing. She had never seen Mac like that. She did not think she had ever seen him sick since she had been in New York.

The nurse finally called Mac and he went back to a room. He felt like he was walking in his sleep but he was trying to wake up. However, when he lay down on the exam table in the room, he was out.

Soon, the doctor came in and Mac sat up. "Hey, just relax," Dr. Brisson said.

Mac lay back down. "I'm sorry," he replied.

"Nothing to be sorry about." The doctor was looking at the chart. "You think you've got the flu, huh?"

"Well, if it's not, it's the worst cold I've ever had."

"We'll see."

By the time Mac got out of there, he felt like he had been thoroughly examined, but he knew he had the flu. He had a sore hip from the shots, and he had two prescriptions. "I'll pick those up for you after I drop you off at home," Jo said.

"Thank you," Mac replied.

"You need to be in bed."

"I agree."

Jo took Mac home and he went straight to bed. She went to the pharmacy and got Mac's prescriptions filled and then bought him some chicken soup. When she got back to the apartment, she stopped when she got inside the door as she thought she saw someone walk into the bedroom. "Mac?" She had thought Mac would be in bed asleep.

Jo went into the kitchen and put the bag of groceries on the counter and then she went into the bedroom with the medications. Mac was indeed in the bed asleep. She touched his forehead and could feel that he was hot. "Mac, I have your medications," she said softly.

"I will take care of him!" someone said.

Jo whirled around to see a red-haired woman standing at the end of the bed, but Jo could see that she had what looked like a halo around her and was transparent. Jo thought she must be losing her mind and she looked at Mac and touched his shoulder. "Mac, wake up," she said.

"Don't disturb his rest!" the apparition said in that wispy voice.

Mac opened his eyes and saw Jo. "You're back already?" he asked but then he looked where Jo was looking and he sat up. "Jo, do you see that?"

"Yes I see it," Jo said. "I was hoping you saw it."

"I think it's Claire."

"No, it's not Claire."

"Why don't you ask me!" the apparition said angrily. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here!"

"You're not here!" Mac declared. He did not have the strength or the energy for something like this. He lay back down. "Please tell me I'm dreaming."

"Mac Taylor, wake up!" Jo was saying as she shook his shoulder.

Mac suddenly sat up and looked at Jo. "You're burning up," Jo said.

"What was I dreaming?" Mac asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I think I was dreaming something."

"You were talking in your sleep."

Mac lay back down on his back. "I haven't been this sick in years," he said.

"Well, I have to get to the office," Jo said. "If you need anything, call. Okay?"

Mac nodded. "I'll try."

"Oh, and I have your medication here."

Mac sat up and took the medicine and then lay back down. "Thanks for helping me, Jo," he said.

"You're welcome. Just remember to call if you need anything."

Jo left the apartment and made sure the door was locked. She hurried to the elevator. She had let Mac think he was dreaming but she had seen that apparition…or whatever it was. She had never seen Mac's wife, Claire, but he had thought it was her. Jo wanted to get to the lab and get some other opinions about this situation.

When Jo got to the lab, she put her purse and stuff into her office and then went into the lab where Lindsay was. "Lindsay, I want to ask you a question," Jo said.

"Go ahead," Lindsay replied.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Lindsay stopped what she was doing and looked at Jo. "Ghosts?"

"Yes…ghosts."

"Jo, we're scientists. We try to prove that there's a logical explanation for everything. Why?"

"Haven't you ever seen anything that…made you wonder?"

"Well, there was that time that I…never mind."

"No. Come on and tell me."

"When we were in the park that time when we were investigating the woman who was scared stiff? I thought…" Lindsay paused a moment. "Are you going to tell me something weird that you saw?"

"I'm thinking about it."

"This is the time of Halloween, Jo. Weird things always happen."

"Come on, Lindsay."

"I thought I saw those two sisters skating on the lake…you know, like the legend?"

"Oh."

"So, why all these questions, Jo?"

"Because something strange happened at Mac's apartment this morning," Jo said.

"Like what?" Lindsay asked.

"I saw…and he thought it was his wife…Claire."

Lindsay frowned. "You both saw it?"

"Yes. I let Mac think he was dreaming in a fever fit, but I saw it too."

Lindsay just stared at her a moment. "You're putting me on, right?" she asked. "You're pulling my leg, just trying to get me to believe that?"

"No," Jo said. "I am telling you, this really happened."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No. I just got here."

"Take my advice…don't tell anyone else."

"Lindsay, that was not the only thing I saw. Last night, I thought I saw my sister in my room."

"Jo, do you know what you're saying?"

"Yes, I know what I'm saying," Jo declared. "This is giving me the heebie jeebies."

"I think you should wait until you're sure what is going on," Lindsay said.

"You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

"No, but I think you should wait until you know something definite."

"Definite? I saw it, Lindsay. How definite do you need it? And Mac saw it too although he thinks he was delirious."

"Well, why don't you get Adam to look up reports of people seeing ghosts?" Lindsay asked.

"I think I will," Jo said.

Jo went into the computer lab and found Adam sitting at the computer like usual. "Adam, I want you to look up any reports of anyone who saw ghosts," Jo said.

Adam stared at her a moment. "Ghosts?" he asked, and then laughed slightly. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. I want to see those when you find them."

Adam watched Jo leave the computer lab, wondering what the point of this search was but he typed in the computer to do the search.

Mac woke up with a headache, and his skin was sore. He felt miserable and wished he could get up, but he just did not feel like getting up. At the moment he was wondering whether he could even sit up. He supposed he would just have to lie there and wait till the medicine took effect.

Suddenly, Mac shivered and felt like something cool was touching his forehead. He opened his eyes and saw…or thought he saw…Claire! Mac gasped and moved away from the apparition.

"Why are you afraid of me?" she whispered.

Mac got out of the bed although he thought he would fall down. "Get away from me!" he said.

"I don't think you really want me to," she whispered as she came over to him.

Mac tried to back away but he thought he was surrounded by her. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the bed and she was leaning over him. "Don't you know I can help you?" she whispered in a way that made it sound like it was traveling all over the apartment.

Mac tried to get away but he could not move. "What are you doing to me?" he asked.

"You should rest."

Mac glared at the apparition. "You're not Claire! She would never do anything like this to me!"

"Who do you think I am then?"

Mac swallowed hard with that question. He did not want to think about that. "Let me go!" he yelled.

Then she screamed so loudly and at such a high pitch that it broke the glass out of the windows and the bulb out of the lamp. Mac was shocked and stared at her as her eyes turned red and her hair seemed to be blowing in a wind that he did not feel. "Then if you don't listen to me, I'll be your worst nightmare!"

Suddenly she vanished and Mac was able to move. He sat up on the bed. He rubbed his eyes and face. He had to be dreaming that. This could not be really happening but then he heard stuff rattling around in the kitchen, and he looked at the windows. He got off the bed and walked over to the windows and found that the glass really was out. He turned around and walked to the kitchen and looked in. The lights were going on and off in the kitchen and the pans were all moving around on the stove. "Claire" was in the middle of the kitchen glowing and laughing about the whole thing.

Mac frowned as she looked at him. "I'll get your attention one way or another," she said in that wispy voice.

Mac turned and hurried back to his room. He was in his pajamas so he got into some clothes and a jacket and left the apartment. He would go to the lab even if he did give everyone there this flu. He went down to his Avalanche and went to the lab.

When Mac walked into the lab, Jo was surprised. "Mac, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Jo, I think I'm sicker than I thought," Mac said.

"Come here."

They went into Mac's office and he sat down in his chair and leaned on the desk. "What happened?" Jo asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Mac looked at her. "Don't say that," he said.

"I'm sorry. What is going on?"

"I think I was hallucinating. I must have had a high fever."

Jo felt of Mac's forehead. "You don't feel very hot, but I would say you do have some fever."

Just then, Sheldon walked in. "Mac, are you alright?" he asked.

"No, he's not," Jo said. "Why don't you check him over?"

Sheldon walked over to Mac and touched his face. "You been to the doctor today?" he asked.

"Yes," Mac said. "I have the flu."

"You should be home in bed."

"I was."

"What happened?"

"I…" Mac thought they would think he was crazy if he told them all that. "I think I was having a fever-induced nightmare."

"You drove all the way here?"

"Yes."

Sheldon and Jo could see Mac was a little shaken by something. "Well, what was the dream about?" Jo asked.

Mac thought this was making him feel worse. "I think I need to lay down," he said and moved over to the couch.

"Did you take your medicines?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes," Mac said. "I just don't feel good at all."

"I'm sure you don't. The flu does that to you."

"What was the nightmare about?" Jo asked.

Mac just closed his eyes. "I dreamed about Claire," he said. "I don't know…it was crazy."

"Well, just get some rest, and you'll feel better later," Sheldon said. "I think you would be more comfortable in the bed though."

"This is fine," Mac replied. "At least I'm around other people."

Sheldon thought that was strange coming from Mac. He looked at Jo who did not look like she was so confused. They went out into the hall. "You better keep an eye on him," Jo said.

Sheldon nodded. "I will."

Jo would see if Adam had found anything in her search…


	2. Chapter 2

Jo arrived in the computer lab where Adam was staring at the computer screen. "Adam, did you find anything for me?" she asked.

"Well, you know at this time of year, there are always people who report seeing ghosts and goblins, werewolves…"

"Adam, are there any ghost reports that seem…particularly urgent?"

Adam typed in the computer and got back to the files he had found. "Well, I figured you would ask me that, and I did find some that really sounded like these people were freaked out."

"Was there anything similar about their addresses?"

"There were two that actually live in the same building that Mac lives in," Adam said with a snicker. "Can you imagine Mac living in an apartment building around people who think they see ghosts?"

Adam looked at Jo as he was laughing, but he realized she was not laughing. She was looking at the screen. "Let me hear those calls," she said.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" Adam asked.

"Just let me hear them."

Adam played the calls from the ones who lived in Mac's apartment building. They even described the ghost. Jo frowned as she remembered what that apparition looked like. She knew Mac had been talking about the same thing. Adam stared at Jo a moment. "What are you thinking?" he asked. "You don't actually believe them, do you?"

"Adam, there are things going on in this world that we may never understand," Jo said.

Adam laughed. "You're joking around with me, aren't you? You want to get me going so you can embarrass me in front of the others."

Jo looked at him. "No, Adam. I saw the woman these people were describing and she was in Mac's apartment. He thought it was Claire, but I'm not so sure."

Adam was silent a long moment. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not. I saw it, and Mac is in there in his office lying on his couch asleep because he was scared out of his apartment."

"Mac?"

"Yes, Mac. I know he had to see her again, and he thought it was Claire."

Adam was not sure what to say. He could not believe he was hearing this from Jo. She was one of the most level headed people he knew and she was saying that she had seen a ghost in Mac's apartment. And she even claimed that Mac had seen it too. "Wh-what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," Jo said.

"Well, if it's not Claire, why would it be in Mac's apartment?"

"Adam, I'm not an expert on ghosts. Why don't you find out?"

"Research. Look for all the weird stuff you can find about ghosts."

Jo turned and left the computer lab, and Adam was completely confused now. He typed in the computer to do a search about ghosts, which he could hardly believe he was doing.

Jo went to her own office and laid the folder she had on her desk that was cluttered as usual. She did not like to be too neat. She liked cleanliness and neatness, but not too neat. She looked toward Mac's office where he was still lying on the couch and looked like he was asleep now. She wondered if she could find any pictures of Mac's late wife so she started digging. She could do a little research herself. However, as she found a story about 9/11, and Claire, she found that whatever she had seen in Mac's apartment was not Claire. Mac had been feverish and he had thought it was her. Jo knew he had seen that apparition again and she wanted to know what she said to Mac.

Jo went to Mac's office and found that he was definitely asleep and even snoring a little. She could see that he was exhausted with that flu and with all this too. She squatted beside the couch and touched Mac's forehead. He felt sweaty but hot too. "Mac," she whispered. "Mac, wake up."

Mac did not wake up. Jo thought she would just have to wait until he woke up. She went and got a bottle of water and left it beside him. She would have to find out herself so she went back to the computer lab. She thought Adam should have found something silly by now. She could hardly believe they were looking up information about ghosts.

"Adam, did you find anything interesting?" Jo asked as she walked in.

"There's always something about this sort of stuff," Adam replied. "It would be better if I knew what I was really looking for."

Jo sat down in a chair beside him. "Adam, I know this sounds crazy, but I know what I saw," she said. "When she talked, it was like a quiet whisper."

"You're really serious, aren't you?" Adam asked.

"Are you just now figuring that out?"

"We don't usually investigate ghost sightings here. I mean, what would Mac say if he knew this?"

"He doesn't, so get busy."

"Well, there are all sorts of websites about ghost sightings and all. Did the ghost say anything?"

Jo considered that. "I was so startled, I hardly listened, but she seemed to think that Mac knew her and said something about helping him," she said.

"Helping him? With what?"

"I don't know." Jo thought a moment. "What if she was murder victim and she knows…"

"You think she's trying to help Mac solve her murder right here at Halloween?"

"Who knows?" Jo leaned back in the chair. "If she's chosen him, she won't leave until he listens to her."

"But he doesn't know who she is."

"I'm sure she is going to tell him."

Adam had to laugh. He had been accused of coming up with incredible stories before and now he was listening to Jo talk about a ghost like it was real, and she thought this ghost chose Mac to solve her murder. "You're really serious about this?" he asked.

"Don't ask me that again," Jo said.

"Uh, yes, Ma'am."

"Thanks for your help, and there's one more thing I want you to do. See if you can find unsolved murders of young, red-haired women."

"Okay," Adam said. He hoped no one asked him why he was doing all these weird searches, but he would just tell them that Jo wanted him to.

Jo went back to Mac's office, but just as she was about to try and wake him, her phone rang. "Oh, why now?" she asked. She would have to pursue this charade about ghosts later.

When Mac woke up, he realized he was in his office and he sat up, but he lay back down. He had thought he was at home in bed. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to remember how he got to this office. He looked at the ceiling as he remembered and he sat up slower this time. Did he dream all that? It had to be a nightmare. He supposed there was only one way to find out.

Mac stood up which did not make him feel any better. As he walked out of his office, Adam was coming that way. "Hey, Mac, are you alright?" he asked.

Mac cleared his throat. "No," he said. "But I'll live." He looked at Adam. "Can you drive me home?"

"Sure."

"Good. Cause I need you to bring the camera and some surveillance equipment."

Adam absorbed that. "Right. I'll be right back."

Mac rubbed his forehead. He could not think clearly with this flu, and he hoped that medicine would kick in soon. Adam soon came back and they went to the elevator. "Can you tell me what you have in mind?" Adam asked.

"I don't feel like driving, and I need to go home," Mac said. "Plus I want to record something."

Adam hoped this did not have anything to do with a ghost, but he would do what Mac wanted. He drove to Mac's apartment building and parked in the parking garage. Mac got out of the Avalanche and waited for Adam. He got the equipment and they went up to Mac's apartment. Mac stood there a moment and looked at the door. He took a deep breath and then unlocked the door. They went in, and then Mac sneezed twice. He wished he could just go to bed and rest, but he thought that was impossible.

"So, what are you wanting me to photograph?" Adam asked.

"Just a minute," Mac said. He went to his bedroom and saw that the windows really were broken out. He went to the bedroom door. "In here, Adam."

Adam went in there and saw the windows. "Whoa, what happened?" he asked.

"I don't…" Mac could not say he did not know, but just then, the doorbell rang. He went to the door and the landlord was there.

"Mister Taylor," the landlord said and folded his arms.

"What?"

"How did the windows in your apartment get broken out?"

Mac frowned. "I…" He could not tell this man that he saw a ghost and she broke the windows out. "I, uh…I'm not sure."

The landlord just stared at Mac a moment. "You realize I'm going to have to replace those, don't you?"

"Yes," Mac said. "I didn't break them."

"Did someone try to break in?"

"No. I can't really explain what happened."

"Someone told me earlier that they thought they heard a woman scream up here. You had a woman in here?"

"I'll pay for the windows to be fixed," Mac said. "I promise, I'll fix anything that is damaged."

"I want to see the damage, Mac."

Mac let the landlord in and he walked into the bedroom. He stared at the mess a moment and then looked at Mac. "I thought when I had a detective move into my apartment, I wouldn't have to worry about damages, now look at this," the landlord said. "And you won't even give me an explanation?"

"I can't," Mac said. "I don't know how it happened."

"Is there anything else I should see?"

Mac shook his head as he rubbed his forehead. "I don't think so," he said.

"You look terrible. I'll get someone over here later today to get this fixed."

"Thanks."

The landlord left, and Mac looked at Adam. "Take pictures of that, and set up a video camera somewhere in this room," Mac said.

"In this room?" Adam asked.

"Yes. I want it in here. Excuse me, but I have to lie down."

"Go ahead."

Mac lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. He had to rest. Adam finished setting up the camera where Mac had wanted it, and then he figured he should leave, but he looked at the broken windows. He could not help but wonder what happened to the windows. He supposed Mac would tell them eventually. He left Mac a note on the bed and left.

Mac woke up later and felt just as tired as he did when he went to sleep. He supposed that was the way the flu always was. He sat up and still felt miserable. He looked at his medicine bottles wondering when this stuff was going to make him feel better. He wished he could just drink a whole bottle of water but his throat felt horrible and it was hard to even drink a little.

As Mac sat there, his visitor arrived again. He could not help but feel nervous and he got out of the bed. "Why can't you just listen to me?" she asked.

"Just get out," Mac said. He knew he should not have said that because he could see and feel her fury. She came toward him and he stumbled backward and found himself sitting against the wall.

The apparition was right in his face then. "You don't care!" she whispered.

"Okay, okay. I'll listen!" Mac said. "Will you go away if I listen?"

"I was murdered."

Mac frowned. "What?"

"My case was never solved."

Mac started thinking then. "I don't remember. I can't think right now. I'm sick!"

"Did you think that camera would get me? You're going to look like you're talking to yourself because no one can see me but you…except that other woman."

"You're not Claire."

"No, I'm not. Maybe I will come back when you're feeling better."

"Just tell me now," Mac said. He rubbed his forehead as he felt sweat on it. He took a deep breath and stood up. "Alright, what are you wanting to tell me?"

"No one should get away with murder."

"I agree, but…" Mac could not remember this woman from any murder scene. He saw a lot of murder scenes, and his brain was not exactly perky right now. "I just don't remember right now."

"Madeleine Coal. You remember than name?"

Mac scowled. He did remember as he looked at her now. She had long, red hair that they had thought was a wig when they first saw it because it was so beautiful and curly. "You do remember," she whispered.

Mac supposed he was remembering now because he was not thinking he was losing his mind. He nodded. "I remember," he said. "There was no evidence to go on, not even a murder weapon that we found."

"That's because my murderer was my attorney."

"Your attorney for what?"

"My divorce."

"Why would your divorce attorney murder you?"

"He wanted more than money for his services and I didn't want to give it to him and I threatened to report him."

Mac could not believe he was standing…or sitting here talking about this. He rubbed his forehead as he felt feverish again. "I have to rest," he said.

"You should get back into bed, Detective. I'll see you again."

Mac got back into the bed and he thought his body felt heavy. He had no energy to do anything.

The next thing Mac knew, someone was ringing his doorbell. He got up, thinking that he did not feel quite as bad this time as he walked to the door. The landlord was at the door again. "It's about time," he said.

"Well, I'm…"

"I brought the guy to fix the windows."

Mac nodded. "Sure," he said. "But I must warn you that I have the flu."

"We're not worried about the flu."

Mac let them in and they went into the bedroom. He went into the kitchen for the first time since he had seen his visitor in there. He stopped just inside the door and frowned. He did not want the landlord to see this. It looked like someone had thrown everything into the floor from all the cabinets and the fridge too, even eggs. He sighed and then turned away from the kitchen. He would have to clean all that up later. Even though he thought he was feeling slightly better, he did not feel that much better. He looked toward the bedroom but he supposed he would not be able to get into bed now so he went into the living room and lay down on the couch. He hoped this flu would be over in a day or two.

Mac did not wake up until the landlord woke him up. "He's done with the windows," the landlord said.

Mac stood up. "Okay," he replied. "Thanks."

"Are you ready to tell me what happened yet?"

"I told you I don't know how it…well, I didn't break them."

The repair man was writing out the bill and tore it from his book. "Give that to Mister Taylor here," the landlord said.

Mac frowned as he took the bill and was surprised to see the amount. He looked at the repair man. "I'll pay it within the week," he said.

The landlord and the repair man left, and Mac closed the door. He stood there a moment thinking about that "conversation" he had with that figment of his imagination. He wanted to just dismiss it as something he imagined, but somehow, he could not. He could not get into something like this until he got well. He just did not have the strength right now. He put the repair bill on the table and then went to the kitchen. He would have to clean this up. He could not just leave it this way and he had no one else to do it unless he called a cleaning service.

Mac walked into the kitchen, trying not to step on anything. Even the dishes from the cabinet were in the floor…and broken. He could not understand why all this was happening unless it was just because he was a detective. He turned the radio on and began working on the kitchen. He started sweating while he was working, and then someone rang the doorbell again.

Mac wiped sweat off his forehead and face as he walked to the door. Jo was at the door this time. "Mac, are you alright?" she asked when she saw him.

"I was just cleaning the kitchen," Mac said.

Jo felt of his forehead. "You're burning up, and your face is red. You should be in bed."

"I'm alright, Jo."

"Mac, just get yourself some water, and I brought you some chicken soup. I'm going to fix it for you."

"Uh, Jo…"

"No arguments."

Mac followed her to the kitchen and she was surprised when she walked in and saw the half-cleaned up mess. There was a garbage bag where Mac had put a lot of stuff in it. Jo looked at him. "What happened?" she asked.

Mac was not sure what to say but he did not want to tell Jo what happened. "I guess I got a little messy," he said.

Jo just stared at him a moment. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Mac shrugged. "No."

"Well, I'll help you clean this up and then I'll fix you something."

Mac was working slowly and he had to sit down before they were finished. He drank some water. "Go ahead and go to bed," Jo said. "I'll finish this."

"This is not your responsibility, Jo," Mac replied.

"You're my friend and I'm going to help you."

Mac had to admit he did not feel like doing anymore. Jo came over to the table. "Mac, what happened in this kitchen?" she asked.

Mac looked at her a moment. "I think I will just go to bed," he said. "I'm not feeling very well."

Jo watched him walk to the bedroom. She knew this must have something to do with that "ghost" they had seen. She had not even let Mac know that she saw it, but she knew that he had seen it, and he had thought he was dreaming. She would just finish here and she would try to find more information.


	3. Chapter 3

After two days, Mac was feeling much better. He was not completely well, and definitely did not have all his strength back after that bout with the flu, but he was not so sick that he had to stay in bed. He had not seen that ghost anymore, and he wondered if he had been in a fever hallucination. He had not told anyone about it although Jo had asked him strange questions, and made him wonder if she had seen anything.

Today, Mac was cleaning his bedroom. He changed the sheets and then took the others down to the laundry room. He was glad he was on the mend and would soon be over that flu. It was one of the worst cases he had ever had. He could remember having the flu when he was a kid, but he had not had it many times since he had been an adult.

Mac put his dirty sheets and blanket into the washer and turned it on. He knew it would take a while for them to get done, so he went back up to his apartment. Just as he walked into the kitchen, he heard a whishing sound and he felt cold. He swallowed hard as he looked around and saw that apparition again. He could not shake the desire to run from her so he moved around to the end of the island. "What are you doing back?" he asked.

"I told you I would be back," she whispered.

"I don't know what you want from me."

"I want you to make him pay for my murder."

"Why don't you do it? Why don't you go and haunt him?"

"I can't."

Mac frowned. "Why?"

"Never mind. I'm here to get you to help me. Only you can see me."

Mac wished he had a way out of this but he thought she would not go away if he did not agree, and he certainly did not want her to tear up his apartment again. "You promise not to tear up my apartment again?" he asked.

"Why? Are you refusing to help me?"

"No. I'm just not sure I can help you."

"You're the best. You can help me."

"How? Is there some proof that you know of? Where's the murder weapon?"

"You know I can't investigate for you. I just want you to make him pay. Don't I deserve justice too?"

"Of course, but if I start prowling around in this case, people are going to start wondering why and why I have anything to do with it."

"The lawyer's name is Ryan Covington. Why don't you check him out?"

Mac considered that a moment. "Okay," he said. "I'll look into it but I don't know anything about this case. What is your name?"

"Madeleine Coal."

Mac went into the bathroom and took a shower and then got dressed in jeans and a sweater. He wore his sneakers with it too. He was not officially on the job but he intended to go and pay that lawyer a visit…after he went and found some information about that case.

Mac sneezed as he walked out into the parking garage. He supposed he would be doing that for a few more days and coughing too. He just hoped he would not get a serious cough. He drove to the lab and there was no one there except Lindsay and Adam. "Mac, I'm glad to see you're better," Lindsay said.

"I'm not well yet, but I'm better," Mac replied. "I need Adam to look up some things for me." He went to the computer lab. "Adam."

"Boss, I didn't know you were coming in today," Adam said.

"I need you to look up something for me."

"Sure."

"I need to know about a murder case about Madeleine Coal."

Adam stopped and just looked at Mac a moment. "Uhm, I already have that information," he said as he typed in the computer.

Mac scowled. "Why do you already have it?" he asked.

"Jo asked me to look up cases about murdered red-haired women, and Madeleine Coal was one of them."

"Jo? Why would she want that?"

"I don't know. She said something about…" Adam stopped in mid-sentence. "You should ask her."

"Believe me, I will."

Adam thought Mac sounded a little angry. He printed out the information for Mac. "When was Jo in here wanting this?" Mac asked.

"Two days ago," Adam replied. "You weren't here."

"I know. Did she get this information?"

"Uhm, no, she didn't come back but I assumed she would want it eventually."

"Thanks, Adam."

Mac walked out of there wondering why Jo was looking for the same information he was, and as he walked down the hall, he sneezed into his handkerchief. He walked on around to the elevator and when the doors opened, Jo, Danny, and Sheldon were in the elevator. "Mac, what are you doing here?" Jo asked.

"I just came to pick up a file," Mac said.

"About what?"

Mac just gave her that "boss" look. "I think I can look at any file I want, can't I?" he asked.

"Of course."

"You got a new case?"

"Yes, and we have some files for you to sign. Can you take them with you and I'll pick them up this evening, or someone will?"

Mac looked into his office where there was a stack of files on his desk. "Sure," he said.

"You feeling better today?" Danny asked.

"Yes, but still not well."

"You should be taking it easy."

"Don't worry."

Mac went back to his office and got the stack of files that needed his signature. Jo came in there. "Mac, are you coming back to work tomorrow?" she asked.

"No," Mac grabbed his handkerchief as he felt a sneeze coming. He looked at Jo over the handkerchief. "Like I said, I came to get this file and I'm taking these others."

"Okay."

Mac went back to the elevator, and Jo watched him a moment. She wondered why he did not want to tell her what the file was about, but she supposed she would not know until he wanted her to. He was not likely to crumble under the pressure.

Mac went out to his Avalanche and looked through the folder he had gotten from Adam. The victim, Madeleine Coal, was definitely the…He rubbed his eyes. He could not believe he was actually doing this. He tried to think of it from a detective point of view rather than what it really was. The woman was shot with a thirty-eight caliber weapon, and the bullet had markings on it that looked like it had a silencer. The weapon was never recovered but the bullet was in the victim, and she had been dumped outside the city, and since Ryan Covington was her attorney, he was not a suspect in her murder, and Mac supposed no one knew anything about their "relationship".

Mac drove over to Covington's office and went up to the right floor. A woman was sitting at a desk in the waiting room when Mac walked in. She looked at him with dark brown eyes, and she had black hair. "May I help you?" she asked.

"I need to see Ryan Covington," Mac said hoping that he would not have to sneeze while he was here.

"I'll see if he's busy. May I say who's calling?"

"Detective Mac Taylor."

Mac thought that was weird. Did she not "know" whether he was busy or not? Was she not the one who sent people back to see him? He waited while she talked on the phone. He wondered what sort of reaction he would get when she told him there was a detective out here waiting to see him. To his surprise, Covington came out to the waiting room.

"Detective Mac Taylor," Ryan said and shook Mac's hand. "Come into my office."

Mac followed him to the office wondering why the guy seemed to be glad to see him. Ryan sat down behind his desk. "Please, have a seat," he said.

Mac sat down in a chair. "Nice office," he remarked.

"Thanks. Now, what can I do for you?"

Mac was holding the folder about Madeleine Coal in his hand. He opened it so Ryan could see the picture. "You remember this woman?" he asked.

Ryan's smile definitely faded then, and Mac thought he turned a shade whiter. "Why, yes, I remember her," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"She was murdered. I believe she was a client of yours."

"Yes, she was. It was a terrible tragedy. She was divorcing her husband and I always thought he was the one who murdered her. They never found the killer. Are you reopening this case? Have you found something new?"

Mac considered how he wanted to answer that question. "Yes, I have found something new," he said. He looked at Ryan. "I think you killed her."

Ryan's frown deepened. "Me?" he asked. "You must be joking."

Mac shook his head. "No, I'm not. I think that you knew how to commit the perfect crime…or you thought you did. I'll just bet you still know where that weapon is, don't you? It's like the tell-tale heart. I'll bet it eats at you all the time."

Ryan stood up. "I think you better leave," he said. "How dare you come into my office and accuse me of murder."

Mac stood up and looked at him. "Is it clicking?" he asked quietly. He almost smiled at the rage in Ryan's eyes.

"Get out."

"See you around."

Mac smiled as he walked to the door, but then he looked at Ryan again. "By the way, have you seen anything strange lately?" he asked.

"Get out of my office."

Mac went on out and went back to his truck. He thought he had probably stirred up some nerves that time. He hoped maybe he could see Ryan do something that would help him convict him of that crime. He studied more of the information in the folder and then went to the evidence warehouse to get the evidence that went with the case.

The guard at the warehouse looked at the paper that Mac gave him. "This evidence probably isn't here," he said.

"Yes it is," Mac replied. "This case is unsolved."

"But it's an old case."

"Are you going to get it or do I have to come in there and get it myself?"

"Fine. You don't have to get so feisty about it." He gave Mac a paper. "Fill that out while I look for it."

"Thanks."

Mac filled out the release form. He remember this case now. Stella had worked on it. There had been no leads on this case, but he would look at that evidence again. He had not worked on that case with her but he would look over everything.

When Mac had the box of evidence, he went to the lab. He coughed as he came from the elevator. He had known that was coming. He supposed he would be going to the doctor next to stop bronchitis. Of course, the others in the lab wanted to know why he was there and what he was doing. "I'm just looking into an old case," Mac said. He went on into his office and sat down to look at the evidence in the box. He was surprised at what was in the box. The victim's clothing was what looked like a Halloween costume, the bride of Frankenstein.

Jo walked into Mac's office. "What are you doing?" she asked. "You're not even supposed to be working today."

"I had to come here to look at this evidence." Mac coughed again.

"What case is this?"

"Madeleine Coal. It was a case that Stella Bonasera worked on."

Jo frowned. She remembered that name from the search that Adam had done for her. "How did you know about that case? What makes you want to open it again?"

"I didn't say I was opening it again. I'm just looking into it like I do a lot of unsolved cases sometimes."

"You saw her again, didn't you?"

Mac stopped what he was doing and looked at Jo. "Saw who?" he asked.

"You know very well who I'm talking about."

"Jo, don't you have a case to work on?"

"You're not going to let me in on this, are you?"

"No."

"Just be careful."

Mac watched her walk away from the office. He knew she had seen that ghost now. He had not been dreaming that day. He looked at the costume, and realized that he had not considered the fact that the murder was around Halloween. He thought maybe that was why…he still could hardly let himself believe that he was talking to a ghost about her murder. He could see where the bullet had passed through the costume, and he looked at the crime scene photos. There had not even been any footprints left at the scene where she was dumped. He leaned back in his chair as he looked through the photos and read Stella's report. The victim was not murdered where she was found. Mac considered that, and he wanted to know where the costume party was that she had been attending. He did not see anything in the report that said they investigated that. He had to wonder why Stella did not look into that. There was no suspect except the victim's almost ex-husband. Mac knew that was how cases went sometimes…there was only one suspect and no one looked for another because they could not prove the suspect did or did not commit the crime. The ex-husband seemed to be the only one with motive. Her friends had been interviewed and no one knew anything about any boyfriends or anyone else whom the victim fought with.

Mac supposed he was going to have to dig deeper into this. He left the box of evidence on his desk and took the picture of the victim in the folder and headed for the elevator, coughing as he went.

"Mac, where are you going?" Jo asked as he passed by the lab.

"I'm leaving," Mac said. "I'll see you later."

"Mac." Jo walked over to him. "Let me help you. I know what you're doing."

"No you don't, Jo. Just take care of your case and the lab." Mac coughed again.

"Are you sure you should be out doing all this?"

"Don't worry about me, Jo." Mac coughed again. "You know how the flu goes."

"Take care of yourself."

"I will."

Mac got into the elevator and went downstairs. He looked at the file again as he got into his truck. He would just go and pay that ex-husband a visit. He drove over to the guy's home, hoping that he would be there. He went up and knocked on the door, trying not to cough.

A young woman came to the door. "May I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Detective Mac Taylor. I need to see Jason Coal."

"Come in."

Mac went in and she led him to the living room where Jason was sitting on the sofa. "Jason, this is Detective…Mac Taylor. He's here to talk to you."

"Detective?" Jason said. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the murder of your ex-wife," Mac said.

Jason frowned. "If you're here to accuse me of that again, you can leave now."

"I'm not. I want to ask you some questions about your wife."

"Like what?"

"Did you know of a Halloween party that she went to the night of her murder?"

Jason thought about that. "We didn't have much communication during that time," he said. "And it usually ended up in an argument. That's why we were getting divorced anyway."

"Did she have any friends who would know?"

"I don't know. Like I said, we didn't have much communication, but if anyone would know, it would be Natalie. She was always around sticking her nose where it didn't belong. She was the main reason for our not getting along because she had an opinion about everything."

"I'm not here to look into why you were getting divorced. I just want to bring justice to her."

Jason just looked at Mac a moment and then nodded. "Well, good luck because I don't know anything about who killed her," he said.

"Did you know her attorney?"

"I met the jerk. Why?"

"No reason. Why do you say he was a jerk?"

"Cause he was." Jason scowled. "He just seemed to take it personally that Madeleine and I couldn't get along."

"How so?"

"He said things like 'you don't even know what you had' and 'what else could you want besides that beautiful woman', or 'what kind of man are you'. I just thought it was weird."

Mac nodded. "Sounds a little weird. Did you think they were having an affair?"

"I don't know, but I think he thought a little more of her than just a client."

"What about her?"

"I don't know but the feeling didn't seem to be mutual."

"Do you think she tried to change lawyers?"

"I don't know. Why don't you figure that out yourself?"

Mac gave him his card. "If you think of anything that might help me with this, give me a call," he said.

Jason took the card and looked at Mac. "Why are you looking into this case now?" he asked. "You weren't the detective who was on this case before."

"No, but I'm looking into it now. I sometimes look into unsolved cases, and this is the time of year that she died."

"Good luck."

Mac left that house and went out to his truck. Natalie Foreman. He would just pay her a visit. At the time of the murder, she had worked at a nail salon. Mac drove over there and sat in front of the place a moment before he got out. He dreaded smelling that smell in there, but he had to go in.

When he walked in, Mac knew just how irritated his throat was because he could not keep from coughing, but he was able to get it stopped. "I'm looking for Natalie Foreman," he said to the woman at the front desk.

"She's with a client," the woman said.

Mac showed her his badge. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor. I need to see her."

"I'll tell her you're here."

Mac waited while she went to tell Natalie that he was there. He hoped this woman knew something about this situation that would help him…and he hoped he would not have to stay in this shop very long either.


	4. Chapter 4

**I was hoping I would get this story done by today, which is Halloween, but I have been having some eye trouble, so it won't be done today, but I hope you are all enjoying it. :) miss37**

Mac sat and waited about ten minutes and he was thinking about disturbing their peace a little but he knew he was not officially on a case so he did not have the right to do that. However, Natalie came over there. She had jet black hair, that Mac wondered if it was a wig because it looked so shiny, and she was wearing solid black and had her makeup and everything fixed to match. "Hi," she said chewing a piece of gum. "You want to get your nails done for the holiday?"

"Uh, no," Mac said. "I need to talk to you about your friend Madeleine Coal."

Natalie frowned. "She's dead, you know."

"Yes. That's why I'm here. I'm hoping you can tell me something that will help me find out who killed her."

"You're investigating her death now? I thought they gave up on this a long time ago. I don't remember you on this case before."

"I wasn't on it before but I am now. I was wondering if you could tell me where she went to a Halloween party the night of her death."

"Halloween party? I don't know of a Halloween party that she was going to."

Mac scowled and showed her the picture of Madeleine. "She was wearing that costume when she was found," he said. "And since it was around Halloween, I assume she was going to a Halloween party."

"If she was, I didn't know about it."

"I thought you were her best friend."

"I was but she didn't say anything about going to a Halloween party."

Mac frowned. "Did she tell you anything about her lawyer coming on to her?" he asked.

Natalie smiled. "I don't think he was her type," she said.

"That's not what I asked."

"No she didn't."

"Something's just not adding up."

"Why are you into this?"

"I'm trying to bring justice to your friend."

"Well, I gave up on justice a long time ago. It seems you can just kill someone and get away with it in this day and time."

"Not on my watch," Mac said. "I'm going to keep on until if find that one little clue that will break this case." He gave her his card. "If you think of anything she said that might help, call me."

Mac turned and left that shop and coughed as he got outside. If Madeleine was not going to a Halloween party, why was she wearing a costume? He had too many unanswered questions now, even with that ghost telling him all this. Maybe she was mistaken too. However Mac knew someone killed her because there was no way it was suicide. He got into his truck and thought a moment. He might have to call Stella and talk to her about this case. He had too many questions about how it was investigated, and wondered if she had turned it over to someone else.

As Mac was driving back to the lab, he was thinking, and wondered if Don knew anything about this case, so he went to the precinct to see him. Don was at his desk when Mac walked in. "Hey, Mac, I thought you were out today," Don said.

"I am," Mac replied. "I need to ask you about a case."

Mac sat down at the desk and gave Don the folder. "You remember working on that with Stella?"

Don looked at the information. "Yeah, I remember," he said. "We never solved this murder." He looked at Mac. "Why? What's going on?"

"I'm looking into this case. I was wondering why it was never a question as to why she was dressed in a Halloween costume the night she was murdered."

"She had worn that to work that day," Don said.

Mac scowled. "Then why didn't her friend tell me that?" he asked. "I just visited Natalie Foreman, and asked her if Madeleine had gone to a Halloween party that night and she said that she didn't but she said nothing about her wearing the costume to work that day."

"To tell you the truth, Mac, the whole situation was just weird. The husband was the primary suspect, because they were getting a divorce."

Mac nodded. "Yes, I know that, but why were there never any other suspects?"

"There were no leads, Mac. I'm telling you, I've never seen a case like this one where there was nothing that led to anyone."

"Did you and Stella ever suspect the attorney?"

Don thought about that a moment. "No. There was no reason. Why? Why are you looking into this case?"

"It's unsolved. I look into cases that are unsolved sometimes. I don't like unsolved cases."

"I thought the husband did it myself but we couldn't prove it. We never found a murder weapon."

Mac frowned. "Why wouldn't he try to frame the husband to just close the case?" he wondered out loud.

"What?" Don asked.

"Nothing. I'll talk to you later, Don."

Don watched Mac walk out. He wondered what was going on that Mac was investigating that murder that he did not even work on. He decided he would call Jo and ask her if she knew what was going on.

Jo answered her phone, "Danville."

"Jo, what's going on?" Don asked.

"We're still working on evidence, Don. You know that takes time."

"Oh, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about Mac."

"What about him?"

"He just paid me a visit. He's asking about the Madeleine Coal case."

Jo was quiet a moment. "What did he ask?"

"He asked me some questions about why we didn't suspect the attorney as her murderer and why we didn't suspect that she was at a Halloween party."

"Oh. So, he's working that case on his time off, huh?"

"Yeah. It looks like it."

"I guess that's his privilege to work on it if that's what he wants to do."

"I guess you're right. I just thought I would ask if you knew what was going on."

"Mac is working on an old case."

"Talk to you later, Jo."

Jo ended that call and thought about what Mac was doing. She hoped he could solve that case. Maybe he would be able to see something others did not see.

Mac went back to his apartment since he was not supposed to be at work. He needed some rest anyway. He hung his coat on the coatrack and went to his room to lay on the bed. He was tired after all that running around. He coughed as he lay on the bed and sneezed too. He had already taken his medication. Medicine could only take care of the symptoms of the flu anyway.

Mac soon fell asleep thinking about that case, but he woke up feeling cold, and he realized that his visitor was there again. Mac pulled the blanket around him more. "What are you doing back?" he asked.

"Are you working on the case?" she whispered.

"I am looking into it, but this is going to take time."

"The night is almost here!"

"What?"

"The night I was murdered! You have to solve it."

"Now, don't get upset and break out my windows again," Mac said. "If you do, I'll drop this case."

The ghost's eyes turned red and Mac thought she would scream again but she did not. "You only have two more days," she said.

"There's no murder weapon and nothing that leads to the lawyer," Mac declared. "Why were you wearing a costume on the night of your murder? You wore it to work that day?"

"I don't have much time left."

"Tell me."

"I can't tell you anymore."

Suddenly, she vanished and Mac sighed as he felt relieved. He hoped he could figure this out. There was something that was not adding up, and he could not put his finger on it. He looked at the file again and looked at the approximate time of death. According to the report, the approximate time of death was around Midnight, but it had been so cold that night that the time could have been later than that. Mac considered that. If she had worn the costume to work…would she have just gone to a party from there? He wanted to know what time that nail salon closed.

Mac got the phone book and looked up the number for that nail salon and called. He found that the salon closed at 9, so she would have had time to get to the party but why did Natalie say that she did not go to a party that night? He was beginning to wonder if this murder had something to do with more than what he thought. He was beginning to wonder if Natalie and Madeleine had been such good friends anymore. However, they were still there in New York…Natalie and Ryan. He thought of the secretary at Ryan's law firm. He would just have to catch her when she got off work and see if she knew anything weird that had been going on.

Mac got out of bed and looked in the mirror. He felt a little better, but he had to admit, his muscles felt sluggish. He wondered what Madeleine meant when she said that he did not have much time left. She had been killed on Halloween night. Just as he thought that, he heard what sounded like a chain rattling, and then moaning in agony. Mac blew out a breath. He would have to move out of this apartment if this continued. He got his jacket and his file and left the apartment. He supposed he had even more reason to hate being at home now. He went down to the diner to eat lunch. He was hungry now and did not want to eat soup. He just hoped he was not still contagious with this flu.

While he ate, he thought about the facts that he did know. He thought maybe he should talk to some other people who worked in that nail salon. Maybe they would know whether Madeleine was going to a Halloween party that night. He could not see any other explanation. He looked in the file again at the analysis of the crime scene. There had been trace on the victim's clothing that was some sort of mixture of green gelatin, baby shampoo, and oatmeal. Mac scowled at that. That was an odd combination but he thought anything was possible at a Halloween party. He had been to Halloween parties before when they had green goop in a pot with what looked like eyeballs floating around in it.

When he was done eating, Mac went back to the nail salon. The receptionist was still at the desk. "You're back?" she asked.

"Yes," Mac said. "Did you work with Madeleine Coal?"

"No, I started working here about a year ago."

"Is there anyone else here besides Natalie who worked with her?"

"Sarah and Jenny have been here a long time. They might have been here with her."

"I need to talk to them."

"I'll go tell them."

Mac sat there in a chair and waited. He could not believe that a person could be absolutely invisible to other people. Someone had to know something. Soon, a woman with long blond hair came out there. "Hi," she said. "You wanted to see me."

"Are you Sarah or Jenny?" Mac asked.

"Sarah."

"You knew Madeleine Coal?"

"Yes, I knew her."

"You remember the day she was here before her murder?"

Sarah frowned and sat down in one of the chairs. "Yes, I remember. She wore that Bride of Frankenstein outfit."

"Did she say she was going to a Halloween party?"

Sarah seemed a little nervous about that question. Mac just watched her a moment. "If you know something about this, you need to tell me," he said. "This woman was murdered." He showed her the crime scene photo of the victim. "Just look what someone did to her and they're getting away with that."

Sarah frowned. "She did say she was going to a Halloween party that her attorney invited her to," she said.

"Her attorney?" Mac asked.

"Yes. I don't know where it was."

Mac could not help but wonder why this was not disclosed information in the initial investigation. "Why was this not known before?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Oh yes you do. What about Jenny? Does she know anything about this?"

"No. Jenny had just started working here then and she didn't know Madeleine well. Natalie and Madeleine started this nail salon together but Madeleine owned a bigger percentage and what she wanted was how it went."

Mac absorbed that information a moment. "Did they get along?" he asked.

"I don't think they always did," Sarah said.

"Well, I thank you for your cooperation." Mac gave her his card. "If you need my help or if you think of anything else, you call me…day or night."

Sarah looked at the card and then looked at Mac. She nodded. "Thanks."

Mac left there with more determination than before. He had to go to that lab and get some more information. There was more to this situation than he had thought and now he thought Madeleine might have been lured to a fake Halloween party, and maybe her "friend", Natalie, had something to do with it. He could not understand this case. Why would the lawyer get involved in something like this for some woman who owned a nail salon? He thought he had to find out what sort of relationship Natalie had with Ryan. There must have been something that Madeleine did not know, but he was going to know.

Mac came out of the elevator at the lab and went to the computer lab. "Adam, I need some information," he said.

"That's what I'm here for," Adam replied.

"I want to know all you can find about Ryan Covington and Natalie Foreman. Natalie owns a nail salon that she co-owned with Madeleine Coal until Madeleine was murdered, and Ryan Covington is a lawyer. I want to know any sort of information you can find that would link those two together."

"I'm on it, Boss."

"Thanks."

Mac left the computer lab and went to his office. He stood there looking at the evidence in the box again. He took the box into the lab and the light table so he could look more closely. Jo was in the lab as well as Lindsay. Jo went over to Mac. "What are you working on?" she asked.

"The same case," Mac said.

"Have you found any new information?"

"I think there is a connection between Natalie Foreman and Ryan Covington, two people who were linked to Madeleine Coal. When Madeleine died, Natalie became the full owner of that nail salon."

"You think she killed her friend over a nail salon?"

Mac looked at Jo. "Do you know how much money they make off a place like that?" he asked.

Jo folded her arms. "You assume I would know this because I'm a woman?"

"Yeah. You have to admit it's usually women who go to these places."

"Okay, I'll give you that one. But why would that lawyer be involved?"

"I'm going to find that out too. There must be something between Natalie and him that she could black mail him even to the extent of murder."

"And Madeleine never knew."

"I'm assuming she didn't but now that I know, somebody is going to pay for this murder."

"How can I help?"

"I don't know yet, but we have to find that connection that puts Ryan or Natalie in this situation. I found out from a woman at the salon, Sarah, that she knew Madeleine was going to a Halloween party that Ryan had invited her to."

Jo thought about that a moment. "Why didn't this come out before?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I think there's some intimidation going on in this. That's why I've got Adam looking into any connection between Natalie and Ryan, and I'm going to get Don on this too."

"I'll get Don on it, and I'm going to help you on this. Danny and Lindsay can handle this other case."

Mac nodded. "We're going to bring justice to this woman."

"We are."


	5. Chapter 5

When Adam was done looking for evidence, he had found a connection between Natalie and Ryan. Ryan had handled a case for Natalie prior to the time that she owned the nail salon with Madeleine. Mac read over the evidence and found that Natalie had had an insurance claim for the death of her mother. He could not see that that would be anything that she could black mail Ryan over. Mac shook his head. There had to be more to it than that. There must have been something else that they were involved in. He thought maybe she had recommended Ryan to Madeleine. But why?

Mac sat down in his chair and rubbed his face. Thinking about all this was making him feel worse. His head was starting to hurt. He could not figure out what the connection was in this, but he had some more questions that he was going to ask Ryan Covington and that secretary of his. He would just relax here in his chair until he could go over there and talk to them again.

Jo noticed that Mac was sleeping in his chair. She thought he should be home in bed because she knew he was not well. Then she saw Chief Sinclair come from the elevator and he was headed for Mac's office. She headed him off. "Chief, can I help you with something?" she asked.

"What is Detective Taylor doing here?" he asked.

"He's been working on a case in his time off."

Chief Sinclair looked at Jo. "What case?"

"The murder of Madeleine Coal."

"Why is he working on that case?"

"I'm not sure but he wants to solve it because it was never solved."

"He shouldn't be here, Detective Danville. He's supposed to be out sick."

"I know he should be home resting but he's been here getting information."

"During his time off?"

"He's not occupying the lab on it. He's mostly keeping to himself."

"How did he come to work on this case?"

"I told you, it's an unsolved case and he doesn't like unsolved cases."

"He looks like he's tired," Sinclair said. "Has he found anything new in that case?"

"He's trying to find a link between Natalie Foreman and Ryan Covington, two people who were connected to the victim."

"Has he?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think he has found anything that looks like a motive for murder."

"Tell him to keep me informed…and tell him to go home to sleep."

Sinclair left and Jo went to Mac's office. She could hear his congested breathing. She had to wonder why he was working on this case when he was so sick but he had peaked her interest too and she was about to do some research of her own. She had also gotten Don to run down some information if he could find any.

When Mac woke up he realized he had been sleeping in his office. He wondered how long he had slept, but as soon as he sat up straight he started coughing again. He knew why he had fallen asleep…he was worrying over that case he was working on.

Just then, Adam came into the office. "Boss, I found something else," he said. He gave Mac some papers. "It seems that there was another time that Natalie and Ryan were connected. It was about fifteen years ago. She was accused of another murder and Ryan defended her. With that case, it was just like this one…there was no evidence and no one was ever convicted. I mean, it must have been when he was right out of law school."

Mac scowled as he read that information, which was not much. "Who worked on this case?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. All that information is not here. I guess it's because it's such an old case, but I don't think it was in this district."

"I want all the information on this case," Mac said. "Maybe that's the connection. It's not blackmail, but the thrill of getting away with it. Are there any other cases?"

"I don't know, Boss. You know, there are a lot of unsolved murders."

"I want to know the details of this case here," Mac said. "I want to know if there are any similarities with the case I've been working on."

"I'm on it, Boss."

Mac thought about what he had just learned after Adam left the office. He wondered if these two had been committing murders and getting away with it. Maybe that was the connection between them and it was not that she was holding something over him but that they were just both murderers. He had to find out more about this and fast.

As the day wore on, Mac had to wait for more information to come in, and it was a slow process. However, he had acquired the evidence about the case from fifteen years ago. He found that the victim had been wearing a Halloween costume. He had to wonder why this was not seen as a similarity to the case he was working on…and even the same two people were involved. He wanted to see the ballistics report on this case. He searched the file for it and finally found it, but the ballistics report was inconclusive. Mac could hardly believe this was investigated in New York. He would have investigated this more thoroughly than this. He had asked Adam to look for any other murders that had happened around Halloween, and that involved a victim wearing a Halloween costume. Mac knew that all serial killers did not leave a "signature" nor did they have a distinctive M.O. He thought he might be about to establish an MO for this one…or two.

When night came, Mac did not have much more information and it was time to go home. He would have to wait until tomorrow before he did anymore, and he thought his cough was getting worse. He would have to go home and take his medicine and get some rest. He was tired anyway.

Mac drove home and was coughing as he walked down the hallway to his apartment. There was that annoying little tickle in his throat that would not go away and it would not be ignored either. It almost made him gag. He hung his coat up and went to the kitchen. He drank some water with his medicine and then made some hot cocoa. He hoped it would make him feel better. It was cold outside and he liked hot cocoa when it was cold.

Just as Mac was about to sit down on the sofa, the doorbell rang. He sighed as he went to the door. Jo was there. "Hi," she said.

"Jo, it's after eleven," Mac pointed out. "I was about to try and get some rest."

"I'm sorry for bothering you but didn't Adam set up a camera?" Jo asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"I wanted to see the footage on it."

"Can't we do this tomorrow? I need to get some rest. I have to take this up tomorrow morning."

"Can I come in and talk?"

Mac wanted to say no but he let her in anyway. Jo went in. "Oh, I smell chocolate," she said.

"I made myself some hot cocoa. I'm hoping it will help my scratchy throat."

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, I have to say I am, but I'm certainly not well."

"I thought that cough sounded pretty bad."

"It feels pretty bad too." Mac sat down on the sofa and sipped his hot cocoa and turned the TV on.

Jo sat down beside him. "Mac, tell me what sparked you into this case," she said.

"Jo…"

"I know you saw her."

Mac looked at her. "Saw who?"

"You saw the ghost of that woman who was murdered."

"Jo, I don't want to talk about this."

"I know you don't but I know you saw her because I did."

Mac frowned. "I don't care about that. I want to find out who murdered this woman and…"

"And put her spirit to rest."

"I didn't say that. I think I'm about to catch two serial killers."

"Serial killers?"

Mac nodded. "I believe Natalie Foreman and Ryan Covington are serial killers, and one always helps and defends the other. I want to know how they know each other."

"Maybe they went to school together."

"I want to know more than that."

"Maybe Adam will find out more."

Jo stood up. "Speaking of Adam, I want to get the camera."

"Fine. Get it."

Jo went and got the camera from Mac's room and then went to the door. "Do you want to see it?" she asked.

"I don't think you're going to see anything," Mac replied.

"Okay. We'll see."

Jo left and Mac lay down on the couch and sipped his cocoa as he watched TV. Then he heard a chain rattling again…and then that moaning. Mac swallowed hard as he looked around the room, but he did not see anything. He hoped no one else in this building could hear that but it got louder.

Mac sat up and looked around more but he still did not see anything until he saw her coming from his bedroom dragging a chain and shaking it. It even had large padlocks on it. "Will you just stop that?" Mac asked. "I think I'm getting closer to solving your case."

She did not stop though. Then someone knocked on the door. Mac stood up and looked toward the ghost who was still moaning loudly and shaking that chain. He went to the door and peeped out. The landlord was standing there with his arms folded. "Yes?" Mac asked.

"Some people have called me complaining about some moaning going on over here," the landlord said. "And it's coming from your apartment."

"Moaning?" Mac asked but then the ghost moaned louder.

"You got someone chained up in there, Taylor?"

"I sure don't! What do you think I am?"

"Well, if you want to have a wild night and hang from the chandeliers, will you please tell your woman to try not to express her pleasure so loudly?"

"I'm not…"

"I don't care, Taylor. If I get many more complaints about you, you're going to be kicked out of here, lease or no lease. This is the third night."

"I'm sorry."

"Just keep it down."

The landlord left and Mac slammed the door. The ghost was still shaking that chain. "This is not a nice way to treat someone who is trying to help you," he said. He went back to his sofa and turned the volume up on the TV and lay down under the blanket. He coughed some but he finally just fell asleep watching TV…and ignoring the ghost.

The next morning, Mac woke up with a cough, and he thought he had been snoring. Just as he sat up, his phone started ringing. "Ohh," he groaned as he grabbed for his phone on the table. "Taylor," he said trying to avoid a cough.

"Mac, I did find some more cases about murders that were committed on Halloween night and they were unsolved," Adam said. "There are five other cases that a similar to the two that we already know about."

"Did you find anything about why that ballistics evidence was inconclusive?" Mac asked.

"I'm still working on that. All of these five victims that I found here though, were also shot like Madeleine Coal and the previous victim from fifteen years ago, Carry Nevins."

"And they were all shot in the heart?"

"Yes, I looked into that too."

"No signs of any struggle…like they knew the person who killed them? They weren't expecting it?"

"Right."

"Adam, look into these other five cases and see if they had any connection to Ryan Covington or Natalie Forman."

"I'll get on that. I just wanted to let you know what I found."

"Good work, Adam."

Mac ended that call. He had even more information now, so he had to get himself moving and get to the office. He coughed as he was on his way to the bathroom. He would have to take his medicine and go to work today, although he was still officially off today.

Mac dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans and went to the office, and he could not keep from coughing every time that cold wind hit him. He went to his office and found that there were more files on his desk. They were the files about the other five victims that were possibly linked to the case he was working on, plus the file on Carry Nevins who was killed fifteen years ago. There had been no signs of a struggle with her either, and she had been left on a road that was not very well traveled, but she was found by hunters. There had been no tracks on the road, nor any footprints, except ones with no distinguishing marks and no discernable way to figure out what size the shoes were. All the evidence was inconclusive, and that was the argument that was used in court.

Mac frowned. He knew he had some clever killers on his hands, but they would learn that he was cleverer. He would talk to the right people and find the right information. He would find some people who went to school with Natalie Foreman. Fifteen years ago she had been in college. He thought Ryan Covington must have just been out of law school when that murder happened. Had they conspired together to commit that murder? Had they been a team of murderers? He had never come across anything like this but he supposed there was a first time for everything.

Mac sat there and thought about that evidence. _No discernable tracks. _How could anyone leave tracks that did not have any markings? Most shoes had some sort of distinguishing markings. He realized what he might be looking at so he went to the lab. Jo was there. "Excuse me," Mac said as he was opening the cabinet next to Jo. He took out a pair of shoe covers. "What do you see?" he asked.

Jo looked at the shoe covers lying on the table. "Shoe covers," she said.

Mac picked up one of the shoe covers. "There were no distinguishing markings on the foot prints and they could not be lifted."

Jo's mouth dropped open. "You think they wore shoe covers?"

"I do, and I think that these two suspects may be a serial murder team."

"Team?"

"Yes. Just think about it. They were involved in that case fifteen years ago, and now this case with Madeleine Coal. I believe they didn't frame her husband because they wanted the satisfaction of getting away with it."

"How do we prove it?"

Mac sighed. "That's the hard part."

"If they used those, what did they do with them after the crime?" Jo asked.

"Well, I'm sure they don't exist anymore. That was fifteen years ago."

"But Mac, what about the Madeleine Coal case? It hasn't been that long. What all was in the evidence?"

Mac shook his head. "No shoe covers," he said.

"I hate cases like this…you know they did it but you can't prove it."

"I want to see the evidence for these other five cases. I want to know whether there were any shoe covers left at that scene."

"They had to make a mistake somewhere, Mac."

"We just have to find it."


	6. Chapter 6

When Ryan Covington came out of his office, Mac was sitting outside waiting. He got out of his Avalanche and went over to Ryan. "Hi," Mac said. "You remember me?"

Ryan frowned. "Yes, I remember you," he snapped. "If you think you're going to harass me, Detective, I will sue you for everything you're worth and this city too."

"Who's harassing anyone? I'm just here to ask you some questions."

"About what?"

"About the murder of Carry Nevins."

Ryan frowned. "Who's that?" he asked. "I thought you were investigating the murder of Madeleine Coal."

"I am, but I think these two cases are connected as well as five others that have happened over the years. They all occurred on Halloween night and all the victims were wearing costumes." Mac stared at Ryan looking for a response.

"Are you accusing me of having something to do with those murders?"

"I just got to thinking that you were involved in that case fifteen years ago, and you were acquainted with this one involving Madeleine Coal," Mac said. "There was no conclusive evidence at the scene and I got to wondering how someone could dump that body down there and not leave any discernable footprints…and then it hit me…they were wearing shoe covers. You know those blue things you put over your shoes in a hospital or lab?"

"Yes, I know what shoe covers are. What does this have to do with me?"

Mac could see that Ryan's face looked at little redder. "It was strange to me that no one figured that out before but you know, fifteen years ago things weren't so complicated. You defended Natalie Foreman, right?"

"Yes, I did. I'm a lawyer. I do lawyer stuff."

"But you're a friend of hers, right? Did you know her in school?"

"Detective Taylor, I don't have time for this third degree," Ryan said. "So if you'll excuse me."

Mac watched him unlock his car. "I think we have a serial murder team on our hands," he said. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"Murder team?" Ryan asked as he looked at Mac. "You must be kidding, Taylor. I don't want to see you at my office again."

Ryan left, and Mac went over to his secretary who was about to get into her car. "Hi," Mac said.

"Detective Taylor," the woman said. "Nice to see you again."

"Thanks. Your boss didn't think so."

"Why?"

"I think he's involved in something. Has anyone named Natalie Foreman come to see him?"

"Oh, Detective, there are a lot of people who come to the office."

"I'm only asking about one."

The woman opened her car door, and then looked at Mac. "Yes, I believe she did come by the office before. She's a friend of Ryan's."

"You have any idea why she was there?"

"No, I don't think so. What he does in his office is none of my business unless I am typing something for him."

Mac gave her his card. "If she comes there again, could you let me know, especially if it's tomorrow."

The woman looked at the card and then at Mac. "I suppose I could. Can I know what this is about?"

"It's about murder, so don't let anyone know that you're helping me."

"Murder?"

"Yes."

The woman shook Mac's hand. "My name is Beverly Chase, so if I call you will know who I am."

Mac nodded. "Thanks."

Mac went back to his truck, coughing on the way. He wondered if the murder team had anything planned for tomorrow night since it was Halloween. He would just go over to the nail salon and talk to Natalie again.

As Mac arrived at the nail salon, it was already starting to get dark outside. He went inside and found that no one was at the front desk so he went around the partition and saw Natalie talking on the phone. She glared at him when she saw him and then turned around to finish her phone call.

Sarah came over to Mac. "May I help you?" she asked.

"I wanted to talk to Natalie," Mac said.

Natalie came over to them. "What are you doing here again, Detective Taylor?" she asked. "If you're not here for business, then I can register a complaint against you for harassment."

"I'm investigating a case. You know I think the case of Carry Nevins is connected with the Madeleine Coal case, and five other cases too." Mac watched Natalie's face as she contemplated what he just said.

"Why would you think that?" she asked.

"Because they were killed on Halloween night and they were all wearing costumes," Mac said. "I think we have a serial murderer, but I think there are two people involved."

Natalie frowned. "Are you accusing me?" she asked. "I've already been acquitted for that murder of Carry Nevins. You can't put me in double jeopardy."

"Acquitted. That's a nice legal term."

"Get out of my shop."

"Okay, but I just thought you might want to know that your friend was probably killed by a serial murderer."

Mac turned and walked away. She had definitely not reacted the way a friend would when they thought their friend was killed by a serial murderer. He thought he was touching some nerves now and he was going to keep touching them until he got a reaction. He drove home and went up to his apartment. He was coughing terribly by the time he got in the door. There were times when he felt like he would never stop coughing, and right now, he wondered if it was one of those times. It was not just a cough either…he knew he was getting bronchitis like he always did when he had the flu. His voice always got rough and he had laryngitis…then again, his voice was just about always rough because of an infection he had when he was a kid that damaged his vocal cords.

Mac sat down on his bed to take his shoes off. He thought coughing took one's strength quicker than anything. He took his medicine and got into bed. He lay there thinking about that case and all that evidence he had looked over. He thought of how the victims were positioned, and then he got his folder and looked at the pictures of Carry Nevins and Madeleine Coal. They both had red hair. He wanted to see those files on the other murders, but they were being dug out of thousands of files so it would take time. He was sure he would have at least some of them tomorrow. He had to find out who was acquainted with Ryan and Natalie who had red hair…then he sat up. Jenny, the woman at the nail salon, had red hair. She had not been working there as long as the others but she had been there long enough to be acquainted with Natalie. Would they dare try a murder now that he was investigating this? He thought they enjoyed the thrill of getting away with it too much to stop. He had chased serial killers before, and they enjoyed getting away with their crimes…and they did not stop just because the police were getting close. He would have to find out about that tomorrow. He did not think they would be able to resist the temptation to get away with another murder, but he could not understand why they would continue killing people who were acquainted with them. He supposed that was just part of the game.

Mac did not sleep very well that night, not only because of his cold, but because he was thinking about that case. Madeleine had not come into the apartment that he knew of. He made some coffee while he coughed and took his medicine. He hoped this cough would not last for two months. He thought he could just go back to bed for a while. He poured himself some coffee and went back to the bed. He turned the TV on and lay there watching the news. He woke up later covered with sweat and freezing. He thought maybe he would not be able to go out running around investigating a case today. He should have gotten some rest before. He was just too sick to go anymore right now. "I'm sorry," he said as he fell asleep again.

Later, Mac was awakened by his phone ringing and vibrating. "Hello," he answered.

"Mac, where are you?" Jo asked.

"I'm in bed."

"Are you okay?"

"No." Mac coughed. "I'm sick. Why?"

"Well, I have been ringing your doorbell and knocking on your door for about five minutes."

"I was asleep. I have to get some rest."

"Did you find out anything else on that case?"

Mac sighed and rubbed his face. "No," he said. "All I know is all those victims were killed on Halloween and…" Mac sneezed and then coughed again. "They were all wearing costumes, they all had red hair…"

"Red hair?"

"Yes." Mac sneezed again. "Sorry."

"Bless you. I'm going to dig into this for you. You just rest and I'll let you know if I find anything else."

"Thanks."

"Talk to you later."

"Okay."

Mac put the phone back on the nightstand. He had not felt this bad in years with a sickness.

Jo went out to her car. She had to dig more into Natalie Foreman's past and find out if there were any red-headed women. She thought that Natalie was the forerunner of this situation, but she wondered what Ryan Covington could possibly be associated with this for. She thought there was more to their relationship than just going to school together.

Jo went back to the lab and went to the computer lab. Adam was not there, so she sat down to do the research herself. She looked for the birth records of both of the suspects. She found out that both of them were adopted. She would just go to the school that they had attended and see what they knew about them, and maybe she would find out who some of their friends were.

Just as Jo was about to do another search, Adam came in. "Adam, I need more information about Natalie Foreman and Ryan Covington," Jo said. "I want to know where they went to school."

"I already have that here somewhere," Adam replied as he sat down. He typed in the computer and found what he was looking for. He printed out the information.

"Thanks, Adam," Jo said. She went to her office and read the information. She hoped maybe some of the teachers who were there at the time Natalie and Ryan were would remember them…and that they would still be there. She realized this was the same school that Ellie was going to.

Jo went over to the school and went inside to the office. She had not been to this school in quite a while. She met with the principal who was at the school at the time Natalie and Ryan were there, and she even remembered them.

"How could I forget those two?" the principal asked. "They discovered that they were brother and sister, and even twins."

Jo was surprised at that information. "Really? And they didn't know it before?"

"No. Not until they met and just naturally liked each other. When Ryan went to Natalie's house to pick her up, her adopted parents knew him, and had no choice but to tell them then."

"That must have been quite a shock to them."

"It was. I've never seen such a change in two people. They seemed to turn against the whole world and seemed to think that everyone knew about it but them. I didn't know it until that time."

"Do you know who their birth mother was?"

"No, but I'm sure their adopted parents would know. Natalie's parents are deceased. They died in a fire after she graduated high school."

"And she and Ryan were best friends."

"Yes, after they found out they were twins, they were."

"Can you give me Ryan's address when he was young?"

"I'm afraid not unless you have a warrant."

Jo had figured as much. "Thanks, anyway."

Jo left there thinking that they were about to blow the lid off this case. She had to tell Mac about this. She got in the car and called Mac, hoping that he would answer…

Mac woke with a start when he heard the phone ringing. He reached and got the phone and coughed as he did. "Hello," he answered.

"Mac, I just found out something very interesting," Jo said. "Are you awake?"

"I'm awake."

"Natalie and Ryan are twins."

Mac was quiet a moment as he absorbed that. "Twins?"

"Yes. They were separated, and adopted and didn't know they had a twin until they met in school, and took a liking to each other, and that's when they found out they were brother and sister, and they became mad at the world. You think that's a motive for murder?"

"What does that have to do with all these victims?"

"I'm just thinking that their birth mother must have had red hair."

"Red hair? And what about the Halloween costumes?"

"Oh, I don't know but I'm going to be working on this. I'm going to find out who their birth mother was and I'm going to look into that death of Natalie's adopted parents."

"You think she killed them?"

"I don't know but I am going to look into it."

"Keep me informed."

"Do you need anything?"

"Rest, I guess."

"If you need anything, just call me. I will go and get whatever you need."

"Okay, Mother."

"Mac Taylor."

"Thanks, Jo."

"You're welcome."

Mac ended the call and put the phone back on the table. He thought about what Jo had just told him. It aggravated him that he could not get out there and investigate that case himself. He wondered what it did to people when something like that happened. He supposed Jo would find out and let him know soon if she found anything else, but in the meantime, he had to get some more rest so he could get out of this bed.

Jo went over to the hall of records to find the record of Natalie and Ryan's adoption. She was sure it would be there unless they were adopted somewhere else. It would be a long search anyway, she was sure but maybe it would solve this crime if she could find out who adopted them and who had given them up. She finally did find the record of their adoption but she did not find their birth record. However, she now knew who had adopted Ryan, so she would go and have a talk with them.


	7. Chapter 7

Jo got Adam to find the address for the Covington's, and she went there to ask them about Ryan. She rang the doorbell and waited. Soon, a woman came to the door. "Yes?" she said.

"I'm Detective Jo Danville. Are you Mrs. Joanna Covington?"

"Yes, I am. Did you say, Detective?"

"Yes." Jo showed her the badge. "Are you Ryan Covington's mother?"

"Yes, I am. What is this about?"

"I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about your son."

"Come in."

Jo went into the house and followed Joanna to the table where she was having coffee. "Would you like some coffee on this cold day, Detective?" she asked.

"No thanks," Jo said. "Ryan is adopted, right?"

"Yes. I was unable to carry a child so we adopted."

"When did Ryan find out that he was adopted?"

Joanna frowned as she looked down at her coffee cup. "He found out when he was about sixteen," she said. "We were going to wait until he was eighteen and maybe he would understand it more by then, but…" She looked at Jo. "I have the feeling you already know this story."

"He found out when his twin sister invited him over to her house and of course, her parents knew just like we did."

"Didn't you think that they might meet each other?"

"Not like that."

"What happened when they found out?"

"He was devastated and his sister seemed to be angrier than he was. She hated us and she hated her parents."

"What about Ryan?"

"He was angry about the fact that he had a sister that he never knew about and that she was a twin. He and she both felt like they had been cheated."

"Don't you think they were?"

"Why are you here, Detective? To make me feel guilty about not wanting my child to think he was adopted?"

"No. I'm here about the murder of Madeleine Coal and Carry Nevins. Did you know Carry Nevins? She went to school with them."

"I remember hearing about that murder and that…" Joanna looked at Jo. "Are you thinking that Natalie and Ryan killed her? Ryan defended Natalie in that trial."

"I know. She was acquitted because of a lack of evidence."

"And you're trying to bring it up now?"

"We believe that it is connected to the murder of Madeleine Coal. Have you ever heard of her?"

"No."

"Can you tell me one thing?" Jo asked. "Did Ryan's birth mother have red hair?"

Joanna frowned. "Yes, I believe she did. I only met her a few times because after we adopted the babies, we thought it best not to have contact with her, and besides, she went to prison not long after that."

Jo thought it sounded a lot like her situation with Ellie. "She's still there now," she said. "What is her name?"

"Alicia Curry."

Jo wrote that down. "I hope your son had nothing to do with this situation," Jo said.

"I'm surprised that you're accusing him of it," Joanna said. "Don't you know that he is a lawyer?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but we have seven murders that are very similar, and we think that there may be more than one person involved."

"And you think…I want you to leave."

"I'm sorry for this, but we can't assume anything else."

"Yes you can."

Jo went to the door. "I really am sorry about this."

Joanna slammed the door when Jo went out. Jo went to her car and wished she had not had to do that but she had no choice because if Ryan was involved in these murders, he would have to pay just like Natalie would. Jo had a feeling that Natalie had something to do with that fire that killed her parents too.

Jo went back to the lab, and when she got there, there were several boxes of evidence in Mac's office. She knew it had to be the evidence about those other cases. She got Adam to find out where Alicia Curry was in prison so that she could go and visit her, and she went into Mac's office to look at that evidence. The first case was a woman named Amy Peters, and she had red hair. Jo looked at the pictures of all the victims, and they all had red hair. She grabbed her phone to call Mac…

Mac got his phone off the nightstand. "Hello," he answered.

"Oh, Mac, you sound terrible," Jo said.

"I feel terrible, so what have you found?"

"Mac, the other victims all have red hair, and I found out that the birth mother has red hair. She's in prison, and I'm finding out where. Natalie hated her parents for not telling her that she had a brother, and I guess she hated her birth mother even more for giving them up like that."

"So you think that's her motive for murdering all these people."

"It's the only one I can come up with."

"That's really far out there, but there was one girl named Jenny who worked with Natalie who has red hair. She could be the next target."

"You think they would try that tonight when they know we're on that case?"

"I wouldn't think that would stop them, Jo. I think they like getting away with it too much."

"Okay, so where do I start?"

"I think you start with the mother, and find out if Natalie came to see her."

"You take care of yourself, Mac. You're definitely getting laryngitis."

"I know."

"I'll call you when I have some other information."

"Okay."

Mac laid his phone down and wished he were there helping her. Every time he sat up he felt weak and could not stand up for long. He hoped the medicine would start helping him soon. He had thought he would be okay but he supposed he pushed himself too much.

Jo asked for the case file on the fire that killed Natalie Foreman's parents. She wanted to see the circumstances of that as well. She thought they were dealing with a very disturbed individual, and if they did not find a way to stop her, Jo was sure Natalie would kill someone else.

Adam had the information that Jo had been waiting for, the prison that Alicia Curry was in. Jo wondered if it would do any good to go and see her, but she wanted to know if Natalie had been to see her and what she had said when she was there. She thought it might help to build the case, but Jo knew that Natalie would never be convicted of the murder of Carry Nevins because she could not be tried for the same crime twice.

As the day wore on, Jo had more information, and she went to see Alicia Curry, who had no interest in talking to her, but she did tell Jo that Natalie had visited her and told her how much she hated her for keeping her from her brother all those years. Alicia had told her that she had not kept her from her brother, but that her parents did. Alicia had nothing to do with what happened to her after she gave her up for adoption. Jo realized that the visit that Natalie paid to Alicia was only a few months before her parents died in the fire.

Jo examined the evidence in the fire. The bodies had been so badly burned, that there was no way to tell if there were any other reason for their death than the fire. The reason for the fire was a cigarette that was dropped on the bed. Jo thought that could have been a deliberate act and made to look like they fell asleep and dropped it. She wondered if they had been murdered and then she sat there and watched the bed catch on fire. It would be hard to prove but she thought they had to try.

Jo called Mac again and told him what she had found now. "I don't know how to proceed now, Mac," she said.

"I think you should follow Jenny tonight when she gets off work," Mac replied. "She could be their next target. If you can, find out whether she is going to a Halloween party."

"A Halloween party. If she is…"

"Then she could be the next target, and if she has on a costume at the shop, she could have been invited to one like the others." Mac coughed.

"Oh, that sounds horrible," Jo said. "What are you doing for that?"

"Never mind. You have more important things to worry about than what I'm doing for my cough."

"Yes. I'm on it, Mac."

Jo ended the call. She would take Don with her and they would find out whether that woman was going to a Halloween party. She thought about that, and then she knew what she would do. She went into the lab where Lindsay was still working. "Lindsay, how would you like to go under cover?" Jo asked.

"Undercover?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes. How would you like to get your nails done?"

Lindsay smiled. "I haven't had my nails done in years," she said. "It doesn't really go well with being a mother and working in a lab."

"Just this once…for Halloween."

"Does this have something to do with the case you've been working on?"

"Yes. I want you to go and get your nails done for Halloween and wear a costume, but most important, I want you to ask for Jenny to do your nails. We'll talk more about it on the way."

Lindsay took off her lab coat and she and Jo went down to Jo's car. Jo explained to Lindsay what she wanted her to do and what she thought was going on. "You won't be in danger," Jo said. "They'll never know you're a cop, and plus, you have red hair."

"You think she'll come after me?" Lindsay asked.

"She might, and we'll be ready for her."

"Don't they usually kill people that they know?"

"I'm not sure if the other victims were connected to them, but they were murdered on Halloween."

When Lindsay was ready, she was dressed in a red vampire's outfit, and she was going to the nail salon to get some long, fake, red nails to go with her outfit. Jo stayed in the car and had a wire on Lindsay, which they had gotten a warrant from a reluctant judge for. However, when she explained the whole situation to him, he had given the warrant. Jo made sure the equipment was working and Lindsay went into the nail salon.

"Good evening," the woman at the counter said. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No," Lindsay said. "But I want to get my nails done to match my outfit. I would like for Jenny to do them for me, if she can. A friend of mine recommended her."

"I'll see if she can do it. One moment."

Lindsay sat down and waited, and soon, the other woman came back and told her that she would be Jenny's next client. Jo heard the whole thing in the car. Soon, Lindsay was back there with Jenny to get her manicure. Lindsay talked about the Halloween party, and of course, Jenny talked about the Halloween party that she was going to and Lindsay found it easy to find out where it was as she acted interested in swinging by that way, and invited Jenny to swing by the one she was apparently going to.

Lindsay smiled at the nails after Jenny was done. "This is awesome," Lindsay said. "I haven't had my nails done in years. When you're a mother, you don't get many opportunities like this."

"Oh, I'm sure you don't."

"Thanks a lot. They look great."

Lindsay paid for her nails and then went out to the car where Jo was waiting. "I suppose you got all that," Lindsay said.

"I did," Jo replied. "You did well. Now, all we have to do is wait for her to get off work."

"You really think they're going to try to kill her?"

"Lindsay, they would never think that we could figure out who they are after this time."

"How is Mac doing?"

"Not well. He sounds terrible on the phone. I think he's getting worse."

"I've never known Mac to be so sick that he couldn't come to work for this many days."

"Neither have I, and I'm hoping that he's taking care of himself."

When Jenny got off work, she headed for the Halloween party, and Jo and Lindsay followed her. They watched Jenny go into the party. "I want you to look for Natalie or Ryan in there," Jo said. "If they're recognizable."

"I'll do my best," Lindsay replied. "If I see her talking to anyone, I'll try to see if it's them."

"Good."

Lindsay went into the party and it was definitely looking like a wild party. It was in a large old house and there was loud music and food and drinks. She walked over to the food bar and tried one of the crackers that looked like it had a green eyeball on it. She finally spotted Jenny at the drink bar. Lindsay stood beside the wall and watched Jenny, and soon, someone met her, and Lindsay thought it looked like Natalie Foreman.

They were at the party for over an hour, and finally, Lindsay saw Jenny leaving with Natalie, and Jenny looked like she was rather drunk. Jo saw them come out of the house as well, and get into Natalie's car. Lindsay came out and got into the car with Jo.

"I guess this is it," Lindsay said.

"Unless she just drives her home," Jo replied.

They followed Natalie across town, and she soon stopped at a hotel, and picked up someone else. "That looks like Ryan Covington," Jo said.

"I agree," Lindsay replied. "Is this how they have been doing this?"

"It looks like it. Get on the phone and tell Don where we are and tell him we're going to need backup when we get wherever these two are going."

Lindsay called Don and stayed on the phone with him to let him know where they were going. Ryan and Natalie made another stop at a house outside the city. "They're definitely up to something," Jo said.

When Natalie and Ryan came from the place, they had bags with them. Jo had to wonder what they were doing, or what they were planning to do. They followed them out to a wooded area, and Jo could hardly believe what they were seeing. She could hardly believe that they thought they could get away with this when they must know that they were onto them.

Jo parked not far from where Natalie and Ryan had gone. She and Lindsay got out and waited until Don was there, which was just a few minutes. They got their weapons ready and headed into the woods where Natalie and Ryan had gone. Then they heard a scream, and then a gunshot. They started running through the woods toward the sounds. They soon arrived at the area where they thought the sounds came from, Natalie, Ryan, and Jenny were nowhere in sight.

"They must have chased her out there," Don said pointing out into the woods.

They all split up and headed into the woods, and listening as they tried to be quiet. Jo moved out into the area that went straight ahead from the area they had been, and she heard something as she got a few feet out. She realized someone was moving through the woods, and as the moonlight highlighted the person's face, Jo realized it was Jenny. Jo was relieved that Jenny was not dead.

"Jenny," Jo whispered softly.

Jenny gasped and almost ran, but Jo got to her to let her know she was a detective with her badge. "I'm here to help you," Jo said.

Jenny grabbed her hand, and they headed back toward the cars. They finally met up with Lindsay, and soon, Don was there too. "Did you see where they went?" Don asked.

"I didn't see anyone," Lindsay said.

They got Jenny into Jo's car and headed back while Don got his backup and confiscated the car that Natalie and Ryan had driven there. Jo could not believe they had gotten away. She knew they had brought Jenny down there, and then they seemed to vanish into thin air. She also knew that Jenny was still quite drunk when they got her into the car. It would be hard to prove who had actually been in the car with Jenny since they had on costumes. Jo knew who they were, but a defense attorney would use the fact that they had on costumes for a curve ball, and since Jenny had been drunk, she would not know whether it was them or not. Jo also thought Jenny had been drugged, so she wanted her blood tested at that hospital.

When Mac found all this out, he was disappointed but he was glad they at least saved Jenny's life. He knew it had to be Natalie and Ryan who did that but they could not prove it, even though Jo and Lindsay were certain it was them…they could not say that they absolutely knew that it was them. Mac looked out the window as he lay there in bed and watched snow falling. He hoped he felt better in the morning so that he could try to help with that case.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Mac woke up and sat up in bed. His head still felt miserable, and it was still snowing outside. He got out of bed anyway and took a shower, and that seemed to make him feel like he was freezing, so he put his pajamas on and a robe and went into the kitchen. He took his medicine even though it did not seem to be helping him anymore. He had coughed so much during the night that his side was sore and he did not even know if he could talk this morning. The cough medicine had finally quieted that cough though. He would eat this morning and maybe he would have some strength today.

While Mac was standing waiting for his coffee to brew, the doorbell rang. He walked to the living room and opened the door to find Jo there. "You know, if you keep showing up here, you're going to catch this flu," Mac said, barely above a whisper.

"Oh, you poor thing," Jo said. "Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"Not to have to talk."

"Well, you don't have to talk, but I have something you're going to want to hear."

"Enter at your own risk."

Jo went in and followed Mac to the kitchen. He sat at the table and Jo sat down. "So, what happened now?" he asked.

"I think Jenny was just a decoy, Mac," Jo said.

Mac was puzzled now. "What?"

"I think they knew all the time that we were watching Jenny. There was another murder last night after we rescued Jenny. I think they knew we were following them, Mac."

Mac rubbed his forehead. It made his head hurt to think about all this complicated case. "Who was the victim?" he asked.

"Ryan's secretary."

Mac was surprised by that. "His secretary? But she doesn't have red hair."

"Oh yes she does…naturally."

"And I suppose there is no evidence there at all."

"We're still working on that, but there was no murder weapon just like with the other cases. There were no witnesses, nothing."

"And she was dressed in a costume?" Mac asked.

"Yes. She was found this morning." Jo laid the file on the table.

Mac opened the file and looked at the picture of the victim. He shook his head. "I can't believe this," he said. "You were chasing someone out there and thought it was them, and this person was killed."

"What do you mean, 'thought'?"

Mac sighed. "That's what they're going to say." Mac rubbed his forehead. "I don't know how I'm feeling so bad. I thought I was a healthy person."

"Mac, you don't take care of yourself. You don't eat right half the time and you don't get enough sleep. When you get sick, it's logical that you're going to get bad off because of that."

"I can't sleep most of the time."

"Why?"

"Because…" Mac looked at Jo and realized he was about to pour out his heart to her. "A lot of reasons." He got up and went to get his coffee.

"Mac, I'm your friend. You're one of the sweetest, most respectful friends I've ever had. Everyone needs someone to talk to. Why can't you talk to me about your problems?"

Mac sat down at the table to fix his coffee. "Jo, I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"Why not? Mac, we all know you have problems, and you think you have to keep everything to yourself."

Mac stared at his coffee. "I'm the boss of that lab, Jo. I'm not supposed to have problems."

"You know that's not true."

"You just want to do your psychology and analysis on me."

Jo leaned on the table. "Mac, I know that you don't take care of yourself and that something bothers you," she said. "You have to have someone to talk to."

"No I don't. I had someone before, and I lost her."

Jo thought she might as well not push him, especially since he was not feeling well. "I'm sorry for prying," she said. "I guess I'm just nosey."

Mac sipped his coffee. "I wish I could help you with the case," he said.

"You just get some rest and don't worry about this. We'll handle it but I wanted you to know what happened."

"You know who did it, you just have to prove it."

"I just hope we can."

"Did Lindsay get any pictures at the Halloween party?" Mac asked.

"No, but she saw Jenny talking to Natalie," Jo said.

"In a costume. That would be the easiest defense in the world for a defense attorney. We have to have something solid."

"We're going to do our best to find something, and maybe that will be Jenny."

"I hope."

Jo left Mac's apartment, still wishing that he had told her what bothers him. She thought she knew part of it. He was lonely, and she knew he most likely had nightmares about the wars he had been in. Right now, she had to focus on this case they were on and find out who killed this victim. She did not want another unsolved murder in the city.

Mac cooked himself some breakfast and sat down at the table, but then he decided to get back into bed. He did not feel like sitting up. Just as he was taking a bite of his food, he felt a cold chill, and his uninvited guest was at the end of his bed. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You didn't stop them," she whispered.

"They're trying to stop them. It takes time."

"How many more will they kill?"

"No more this year, I assume because Halloween is over."

The ghost cried out loud in a moan. "Stop that," Mac said, but then he coughed. He lay down on the bed. He was not sure he could take all this right now.

"You're supposed to be the best detective in this city," Madeleine whispered.

"I never said that," Mac said with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and realized she was gone.

After a few more minutes, someone rang the doorbell. Mac coughed on his way to the door. He found that the landlord was there this time. The landlord just stared at Mac a moment. "Are you sick?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," Mac said.

"You sound terrible."

"Thanks. Was there something you wanted?"

"Someone complained about someone screaming over here. I want to see who you have in this apartment."

"No one is in this apartment but me but if you want to catch the flu, you can come on in and see."

The landlord came in and looked around and then looked at Mac. "Did you hear that screaming?" he asked.

"Yeah, I heard it," Mac said. "Doesn't mean I did it."

"Boy I hate this time of the year," the landlord mumbled as he went to the door.

Mac closed the door and then went back to bed. He thought he would never get well if he could not stay in this bed. He was not sure he could eat now but he was going to try. He had to have something to eat so he could get some strength. When he swallowed anything, it felt like part of his throat was trying to go down with it but he would eat anyway.

Jo and the others at the lab analyzed the evidence that had been found at the latest crime scene which was not much. They had basically the same problem as the other cases…there was no evidence to point to anyone. All they had was that they knew who they thought was committing these murders, but they could not prove it.

Danny leaned on the table and stared at the clothing of the victim. "Just having these costumes should be enough to know that the same person is doing all this," he said.

"What made them think that Natalie killed Carry Nevins?" Lindsay asked. "We need that bit of information, and then maybe we can tie it to these others."

"She was a suspect because she had been leaving the Halloween party with the girl," Jo said. "That was the last time anyone had seen Carry alive."

"So we basically still have nothing."

"We have to find that murder weapon. It is the same one that killed all these people, but it's never been found."

"Maybe that lawyer has it somewhere," Danny pointed out. "He was never a suspect."

Just then, Don came into the lab. "I just got through talking to Jenny," he said. "She confirms that she left that party with Natalie Foreman. I have a warrant to go to her business and her apartment."

"I'm with you," Danny said.

"We both are," Jo said. "Lindsay, keep working on this evidence."

Don, Danny, and Jo went to the nail salon first, and were greeted by the same receptionist who was always there. Don showed her the warrant, and then they walked around the partition into the nail salon. Natalie was there, and she was angry. "Here you are barging into my business again," she said. "I'm surprised that Detective Taylor isn't with you."

"He would be but he's otherwise occupied," Jo said. "We're here to look around your little shop here."

"For what?"

"A gun," Danny said.

"We keep a gun in the safe if you would like to see it."

"I'm sure that's not the one we're looking for," Jo said. "But I'll look at it anyway."

They searched the shop, but did not find anything. "Well, we're on our way to your apartment next," Jo said. "And you're coming with us."

"I can't just leave my shop!" Natalie declared.

"You will today."

Don gestured for her to go first as they went out the door. They went to Natalie's apartment and she opened the door. Jo and the others searched the apartment while Don stayed in the living room with Natalie. "So, how many more do you think you can get away with killing before you get caught?" Don asked.

Natalie gave him an angry look. "I don't have to talk to you," she said. "And when they don't find anything here, I'm going to sue you."

"Go ahead."

Jo knew that gun had to be around somewhere because they had used it every time. She could not imagine where they would hide it all these years that no one would find it. She would go to that lawyer's apartment and office next if they did not find it in this apartment. She knew it had to be somewhere that no one would think of looking for it but she did not know of anywhere that she would not look if she were looking for a weapon.

Jo stood in the bedroom and looked at everything. She did not see anything out of the ordinary, and then she looked at the dresser and how it was sitting. She walked over to it and looked at the legs of the dresser and realized that they had been moved and that were not placed just exactly where they had been before because of the indentions in the carpet. Why would anyone be moving a dresser? She realized the dresser was one of those that was not flush with the floor but that it had space under it.

"Danny," she said as he was in the next room.

Danny came in there. "Yeah."

"What do you see?"

Danny looked at the dresser and then he squatted with his flashlight. He looked at Jo. "Looks like it's been moved," he said.

"That's what I thought. Why would anyone move that heavy dresser and then put it right back?"

"I don't know. Maybe they dropped something behind it or maybe they were hiding something under it."

They pulled the dresser out away from the wall but there was nothing behind the dresser. "Whatever it is, is up under there," Danny said as he looked at how the dresser was made.

"Taped under there," Jo replied.

They moved everything off the dresser and took the drawers out and then laid the dresser on its back. Danny shined his flashlight on the three bags that were under the dresser and looked at Jo. "I think we struck the jackpot," he said.

"There won't be any getting away with it this time," Jo replied.

Mac was half-asleep when his phone rang. "Hello," he answered.

"Mac, we got her," Jo said.

"What? How?"

"We found their little stash. It's the weapon, Mac, and even the costumes they wore. They have blood on them. I think Ryan is about to crack too."

"So it's over," Mac said.

"All but the screaming and crying."

Mac thought he might have laughed at that if he did not feel so rotten. "Keep me informed," he said.

"I will. You can stop worrying about this now."

"Thanks."

Mac ended the call and turned over on his side as he looked out the window at the snow gently falling. He was glad he did not have to go out in that. That case was over and he hoped his visitor would stay away too. He was sure the weapon they found would be the one that killed Madeleine too.

After two more days, Mac was feeling better. He was still coughing but he was not feeling like he could not get out of bed. He had changed the sheets on the bed and washed everything. He did not feel like running a race, but he did not feel like he would pass out when he got up either.

Jo came over to Mac's apartment. "Well, that case is just about in the bag," she said as they sat down on the sofa. "The only remaining question is that people want to know why you started investigating that case."

"Because I wanted to," Mac said.

"I just told them that you're the head of the crime lab and you could investigate any case you wanted."

"Exactly."

"So, I see you're feeling a little better."

"I am. If I can get rid of this cough and laryngitis, I'll be doing okay."

"I'm sure it will be over in a few days…and when it is, I want you and I to go and have us a big old hamburger and fries."

Mac smiled. "I might do that when I can smell it again," he said.

"That does help."

"I'm just glad I'm feeling better. I don't feel like I'm wet with sweat all the time anymore, and I don't have to lie in bed."

"You don't like lying in bed, do you?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, this evening, I will be back with some folders for you to sign. Everyone hopes you'll be back soon. We just don't know what to do about that lab without you there."

Mac smiled. "Don't worry. I'll get you all back in line when I get back there."

"Who says we're out of line?"

"I do. You all get slack when I'm not there."

Jo laughed. "How do you know? Do you have spies everywhere?"

"You never know."

"Mac Taylor. I think you really are feeling better." Jo stood up. "I'll see you later."

"Okay, Jo, but just remember, I'm watching you."

"No you're not."

"Yes, I am."

Jo stopped and looked at him. "Can't you just admit it to me?" she asked.

"Admit what?" Mac asked.

"That you saw her."

"Saw who?"

"Oh, Mac! You're impossible."

"I know."

Jo smiled and went out the door. Mac shook his head. He knew he had a good team and that they ran the lab like it should be even when he was not there, but he had to make them think he wanted everything strict even if he knew he could trust them.


End file.
